Chapter 28: Baldwin Raymond!!!
While Kendra was being worked on by the forest nation healing experts, Lancelot and his team were also getting to know themselves and improving their combat skills.
The human world was different from the elemental world in the sense that the humans lived together on the same three continents as the Elementals but the parts they occupied were bigger and generally avoided by all Elementals.
Throughout the three continents of Khumalo,
Chimitra, and Oreghuma, both humans and Elementals existed but were separated by a thin veil that blocked the linkages between both worlds.
***
In the human world...
***
A scientist named Charles sat down on a glass stool of moderate height on a stage in front of a crowd of investors, to tell them the progress of his research.
His research was on Elementals.
He had spent about 10 years of his life researching the existence of elementals, and he believed that knowing more about the elementals could improve human existence and could even allow them to advance in their science and technology.
"... So I believe with your funding, I can improve the available G2S equipment for elemental searching and be able to find their exact locations, the elementals exist and are living in the world as we are but have been hidden by some sort of phenomenon.."
Scientist Charles continued speaking with an intense gaze as he explained his funding,
As he was speaking, a member of the board that was responsible for vetting the research and allocation of funding, got up all of a sudden and started to speak
"l learned that you've devoted your entire life to this whimsical and fiction like a waste for a research, Still you have not provided proof for the existence of an actual elemental."
"So, the board gives you I month, to bring proof of the existence of these so-called elementals otherwise, your funding would be cut and you would be stripped of the top scientist position in this company"
The man spoke with such authority, even the remaining board members were slightly shocked but they stood with him on the matter, nonetheless.
However, not all the board members agreed with his views on the matter but they wont refute a fellow board member and besides the research sounds a little too good to be true.
With that, they ended the meeting and everyone dispersed after the usual plethora of greetings and salutations.
Scientist Charles picked up his phone and dialed a number,
'vrUUUUUUU, vruuuuuuu',
"Hello, what is the name of that man that spoke last, and who is he?" the scientist asked.
"His name is Baldwin Raymond, a wealthy billionaire, and the biggest investor in your research, I think you shouldn't pick a fight with him, let the dust settle, and try to reason with him, having him on your side is akin to winning the boards' total support" The response came from the phone.
"I don't care if he fell with money from the sky, tail him like there is no tomorrow and I want every single detail about him, where he sleeps where he eats, I want to know him like the back of my hand, you got that?" With that being said, Charles hung up. He still felt a bit enraged.
He squeezed his temples and scratched lightly In his attempt to dispel some of the pent-up frustration he felt from the meeting he just concluded.
He got into a pensive mood.
'He called my life's work whimsical and a waste, who the fuck does he think he is...?'
He thought to himself as he stamped his fist on his lap, and then he got up and moved away, heading to the laboratory on the second floor of the building.
In truth, the meeting was not the only thing that got scientist Charles suspicious.
Three years ago, scientist Charles had developed a device that would light up in the presence of an elemental.
However, due to the absence of any living subject, there was no way to test if the device worked or not, but, for the first time in three years in the presence of Baldwin Raymond, the device showed a red sign indicating the presence of an elemental.
Although he couldn't affirm if it was Baldwin Raymond who was the elemental but he guessed he wasn't far from the truth since the sign showed as soon as Baldwin Raymond stood up to speak.
On the other hand, Baldwin Raymond drove his red Jaguar 2017 model to an abandoned area.
The area had a veil that had been torn by the very scientist that kidnapped Baldwin Raymond as a kid.
Baldwin Raymond was a fire elemental who had been kidnapped and brought to the human world to be used as a scientific research test subject.
On the day he was presented to show his abilities before a crowd of expectant faces and deep pockets, he kept mute as if he couldn't understand the simplest of terms.
And this action of his made the big investors who had dropped millions of dollars for the
elemental discovery research to be angry at the scientist for kidnapping a 'human' kid all in the name of money.
They started to rescind the deals they had previously made. The scientist was so mad at Baldwin that he furiously attacked him, It was then that Baldwin showed him the true power of a fire elemental.
He mercilessly killed the scientist on the spot, he also ensured he killed every single scientist that was involved.
Days passed and the entire matter was forgotten and no one even suspected him after the police investigated the death of about 28 scientists who were all burnt to death.
They all agreed it was a sudden gas explosion or some fuel that was ignited accidentally.
Baldwin had been living in the human world ever since.
He survived and thrived and made so much money such that he was the top richest man on the entire continent.
And with this advantage, he would find any form of crazy scientists wanting to find elementals, and he would assassinate them or end their carrier in such a ruthless manner that they would never be able to recover.
He was the ruthless protector of the elemental world who ensured not a single slip of the presence of the elementals got out.
Sometimes even the fishermen would see life forms that were not human either from the beast nation or water nation, and Baldwin will not only protect the elementals involved but cover up the matter thoroughly and ruthlessly, such that not a single word got out.
All on his own he had protected the elemental world. Once in a while he would think of his father and mother and how he left them and sigh in sadness.
As he stood beside his car he looked at the torn veil. He had been trying to cover that veil but nothing he had tried worked.
That veil could expose the elemental world, he wanted to keep it as far away as possible,
Baldwin Raymond felt the heat signatures of multiple beings approaching.
Him being a level 4 fire elemental, he was practically a human heat signature detector.
He could feel the slightest heat from a distance away, and he was capable of projecting heat via any material to its target,
He clenched his teeth when he sensed he had been followed, 'None of you would leave here alive"
He muttered to himself as he prepared to launch an all-out attack without the slightest consideration of holding back.